Haha yeah, not to mention the part whey I say the mod isn't "fisished yet"
When I look back at my early use of the English language it's almost cringeworthy. But I'm glad to have improved overtime. On the Shipsim forums, my posts go back to about 2007. Not only did I suck at English, I was an annoying little twat as well worth slapping in the face if I could go back in time.

Well, I hope Bethesda is using a new engine around that time. _________________

It's so wonderful, Mr. Rob! I can't even describe how respectful I am towards your work. What you're doing is so impressive. Like Matteo, I just can't find the words to express my thoughts and support.

Your name is written in gold letters in the history of Mafia, Rob, and your mod is in a class of its own. Way to go and best of luck!

And so it is 2017 already.
Looking back at the progression made in 2016 which is..... eh...... hmmm.... not that much...

So what's happening?

Is 2017 going to be just as quiet as 2016?
Well I sure as hell hope not. Fortunately I have a plan as I found out what went "wrong".
First of all, I spent quite some time last year being involved with various Titanic projects that used 3D models from this mod. When one project got completed, the next one mailed me. I'm still in the last stages of preparing assets for a last client which fortunately involves an optimization process that was required for this mod anyway. After this is done, I'll no longer accept offers to work with 3rd parties. (Unless they are cousins of Bill Gates of course).

Secondly, I'm in the process of working out an agreement with my current job to take a few weeks off throughout the year as unpaid leave. This allows me to work fulltime on this mod for small stretches without any interference. It should allow for a lot more productive time compared to working in late hours after work. I only need to point out which weeks I want to take off exactly. When a date is set, I'll announce it here. During those weeks I want to post an update at the end of every day.

So what's on the schedule then?
Like I mentioned, the last few assets are being optimized for in-engine use. (only the pool area left).
Once this is sent to the client I can dedicate my attention back to this project again. I'm thinking of scrapping a few more areas from the list (sue me) that are non essential to the storyline. These can always be added later if necessary. I feel that this way I can spend more time on the important areas and save a lot of production time due to the extra work it would otherwise require.

After the assets are sent, I shall proceed modelling the corridors while slowly implementing all finished areas into the game one by one.
For the latter, I may need a hand of someone here who has some experience with converting interior areas. I do need to refine my workflow better for this to work, but I was just wondering in advance if anyone's willing to help out. Due to the non-disclosed nature of these models, I can only hand them over to known modders here on Mafiascene._________________

On May 1 to 5, I've been granted a week of unpaid leave in order to work fulltime on this mod.

I made the wrong assumption that when I'd be a working man, that I would have lots of time to work on this. I couldn't be more wrong.
My holidays are less than half of what I used to have during school, and after sitting behind a PC doing 3D for more than 8 hours I can't force myself to do any more when I get home. Besides, there is also a household to maintain.

Before I knew it, I was in the "work-eat-sleep-repeat" routine. No wonder life starts to move faster as you get older, days fly past at the speed of sound. My last update felt like it was two weeks ago. Yet it has been more than a month now. And my last video is more than half a year old already.

Thus, I concluded, if I ever want to get this done any time soon, I have to put the brakes on this fast moving routine called life. The upcoming WIP-week is planned to be the first of a bunch. In this first week, I want to finish all of the ship's corridors and implement them ingame. They have been a bottleneck for quite a while. No other area can be implemented without them, and not a single mission can be programmed without them.

Lastly, I don't think I ever mentioned this, but I feel save to only post this here on Mafiascene and ask everyone to please not spread this word out too much due to my past experiences regarding the subject, and that is a deadline. Because I want to move on from this project and have greater plans after this, I want to desperately finish this mod. Hence I'm taking those weeks off. The deadline I have set is around September 2020, which sounds like a while, but is not much time.
It's still a rough planning, and it's hard to determine the accuracy of that. First I'll have to see if I can finish the corridors like I planned. From that point on I can determine how many more weeks I shall require to finish the modelling. Because when all of the models are done, the mod can finally take shape. Fingers crossed._________________

Damn, I can only imagine what it feels like being stuck in such a cycle. It so often just drains you out. I'm really glad you'll have some time for yourself, Rob. Give that routine a break, rest and do something nice for yourself